Detergent compound



, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARVEY B. FULLER, OF ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

DETERGENT COMPOUND.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 536,691, dated April 2, 1895,

Application filed October 18, 1893. Serial No. 488,470. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARVEY B. FULLER, of St. Paul,.Ramsey county, Minnesota, have invented a new and useful Composition of Matter to be Used for the Dry Cleaning of the Walls and Ceilings of Rooms, its object being to provide a composition which will not dry or decompose on exposure to the atmosphere, so as to become unfit for use, of which the following is a specification.

To this end my invention consists in using glycerine combined with some absorbent material for the purpose of making a plastic mass or elastic solid of the specified characteristics and utility.

In combination with the glycerine any suitable absorbent material may be employed, although I prefer to use for this purpose a substance such as flour, either alone or with an inert mineral powder such as pulverized clay, mixed in suitable proportions to obtain the desired consistency. The preferred proportions areabout seventy five per cent. of flour to twenty five per cent. of mineral powder. Glycerine is added to this in the proportion of forty to fifty per cent. of the entire weight of the compound. These proportions may be varied somewhat and still secure an efficient compound. The amount of glycerine may also be varied as necessary to change the composition for use on smooth or rough walls, to be determined by experiment. So

also when flour alone is used as the absorbent material, the proportion of glycerine will be somewhat larger than when an inert powder is used. The dry materials are first thoroughly mixed together, when more than one is used, and the glycerine added thereto, and

after the whole mass is thoroughly mixed it is heated sufficiently to cause the flour to absorb the glycerine.

The composition is a slightly elastic solid, or plastic mass, according to the varied proportions of the ingredients, and is of such a nature that it can be used as follows: It is formed into a mass of convenient size to be grasped in the hand and then is rubbed over the surface to be cleaned, without the application of any other material. As the mass is rubbed over the surface, minute rolls of the composition are formed andrubbed off from it by the friction. These rolls in being formed, combine with or adhere to the dust upon the surface and carry it with them as they fall, little of the dust however adhering to the mass of the composition. In this respect the action is not unlike that of a soft rubber eraser. The dust consequently does not materially soil the mass of the composition, which is worn away by use.

l. A detergent mass consisting of glycerine and a suitable absorbent material, substantially in the-proportions and for the purpose specified.

2. Adetergent mass, consisting of glycerine and flour, substantially in the proportions and for the purpose specified.

3. A detergent block, consisting of glycerine, flour and an inert powder such as clay.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 12th day of October, 1893.

HARVEY B. FULLER.

Witnesses:

H. S. JOHNSON, T. D. MERWIN. 

